Non-lethal protective device



June 30, 1970 P, FOLEY 3 511912 EXON=LETHMJ PROTECTIVE DEVICE INVENTOR 790074621 045) ZZMQAMMMQ ATTORNEY June 30, 197-0 1', p, FOLEY 3,517,912

NON-BETH; PROTECTIVE DEVICE Filed NOV- 4, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 &

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' INVENTOR fi/axmsfiwziy ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,517,912 NON-LETHAL PROTECTIVE DEVICE Thomas P. Foley, 12 Jaues Lane, Huntington, N .Y. 11743 Filed Nov. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 773,040 Int. Cl. E01f 13/00 US. Cl. 2561 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The specification and drawings disclose a compact, easily stored and carried, non-lethal protective device which prevents attacks by persons and animals. In a preferred embodiment when the device is thrown, a number of arms instantly extend and form a mechanical barrier between a person and a would-be attacker.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for forming a mechanical barrier to prevent intrusions and attacks by persons and animals and, more particularly, to a simple, practical barrier which may be conveniently stored and carried and which may be set up practically instantaneously.

A mechanical barrier is one of the oldest and most widely used means of protecting persons and property; doors and fences are two common examples of such barriers. One advantage of such a barrier which is often overlooked is that it functions without injuring the wouldbe intruder, an advantage that makes it potentially attractive as a means of personal defense in many situations.

Proposals have been made in the prior art for a mechanical barrier that can be set up when and where needed in order to impede an attacker. However, such proposed apparatus has not proved satisfactory as a means of personal defense owing to the fact that it is so bulky that it cannot be conveniently stored or carried and to the fact that it is difiicult and time consuming to set up.

One object of this invention is the provision of an apparatus that can be conveniently stored, can be carried by hand, and can set up practically instantaneously to form a mechanical barrier to impede the advance of a would-be intruder.

Another object of this invention is the provision of such an apparatus that is light enough to be thrown and which sets up a barrier at the point of impact.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of such an apparatus which can be fully erected by means of its own stored mechanical energy and which can be independent of any erecting power source which might be subject to aging, accidental interruption, or disarming.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a barrier forming apparatus that can be activated remotely by electrical impulse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, this invention contemplates the provision of a number of extensible arm forming members joined at one ice end and compressed into a compact mass by a housing. When the housing opens or shatters, each arm automatically extends in a different direction to a length that is many times greater than its compressed length, forming a mechanical barrier to impede a would-be intruder.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the extensible arms formed by thin, coiled, resilient steel strips that have been prestressed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the strip. Each coil is joined' to and housed in a tube and the tubes are joined together with the opening of each pointing outwardly in a different direction. A frangible shell of glass or plastic surrounds the tubes and holds each coiled strip in its housing. Upon impact, the shell shatters simultaneously releasing the coils which automatically extend to form long, rigid tubular arms that are centrally joined and form an impeding barrier.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Having briefly described this invention, it will be described in greater detail along with other objects and advantages in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment which may be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings form part of the instant specification and are to be read in conjunction with it. Like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views;

FIG. 1 is an overall view of one embodiment of a barrier forming device constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention, with certain parts broken away and parts shown in partial section;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of an extended arm formed by the arm forming members of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a pictoral view of a barrier formed by the apparatus of FIG. 1 in a doorway of usual proportions;

FIG. 4 is a view generally similar to FIG. 1 showing another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a detailed, sectional view of a tube for containing the extensible arms employed in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 4;

FIG. 6 shows one embodiment of a frangible container for a barrier forming device of this invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a barrier forming device of this invention which may be operated remotely by means of an electrical impulse;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of an alternate means of activating the barrier forming device of this invention by electrical impulse;

FIG. 10 is a front view with parts in section of still another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a plurality of tubes 12 are embedded in a core 10 with the open end of each pointing in a different direction. Conveniently, core 10 may be formed or molded from a lightweight but relatively rigid plastic such as an ABS material, or

3 may be of thin steel or magnesium construction. The tubes 12 may be secured in place in any convenient manner known in the art such as by means of tabs 16 or a suitable adhesive.

Each of the tubes 12 contains a coiled strip of thin sheet steel 18 which has been prestressed at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the strip. With one end of the strip 18 fastened to the tube, when the coil 18 is released it immediately extends itself to form a rigid convolute arm, a fragmentary sectional view of which is shown in FIG, 2. Suitable coiled strips are commercially available from Ametek, Inc., Hunter Spring Division, 3 Spring Ave., Hatfield, Pa. A tube 4 inches long and 1 inch in diameter can easily contain a coiled strip which automatically extends to form a rigid tapered convolute tube approximately 4 feet long. It will be appreciated that other arm forming members may be employed such as telescoping tubes, for example. The prestressed coils are particularly advantageous, however, because they are simple and reliable, extend rapidly under their own stored energy, and form a rigid arm owing to their convolute construction in which portions of the coil overlap.

The coils 18 are held in cocked positions in the tubes 12 by means of a shell or housing 22 which is preferably made of a frangible material such as glass or certain thermoplastic materials known in the art. Advantageously, the sphere 22 has a number of ports 24 formed in it which are useful in constructing the barrier forming apparatus of this invention as will be described in the following paragraphs.

One method for manufacturing the barrier forming device of FIG. 1 is to first secure the coils 18 to the housing tubes 12. As shown in FIG. 5, the coil 18 may be secured to the housing by means of rivets 38 which anchor the outer edge of the coiled strip 18 to the wall of the tube 12. Of course, any suitable technique known in the art may be used for securing the coiled strip 18 along its outer edge to the interior wall of the housing. The strips may then be coiled into the housing and held in place by covering the opening of the tube 12 with a low melting point material such as solder or a wax or ice. The tubes 12 may then be inserted into radial bores formed in the core and secured in place by means of tabs 16.

Conveniently, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the shell 22 may comprise two hemispheres 22a and 22b formed with peripheral ridges 26 and 28 respectively. A C-shaped clamp 32 can be used to hold the two hemispheres together. If desired rather than make the shell of a frangible material, a quick release clamp 32 known in the art may be used. In such an embodiment, the clamp would be released in order to activate the barrier forming apparatus.

After the shell 22 is in place, the entire assembly may be heated, melting the wax, solder or ice, which then flows out of the ports 24 and frees the coils 18 which extend slightly until they contact the inner surface of shell.

Typically, the device shown in FIG. 1 would be about 10 inches or less in overall diameter and would carry in the neighborhod of fifteen extensible coils 18 each of which is capable of forming a rigid arm about four feet long. A typical device weighs about three pounds and is, thus, readily carried and thrown, even by a weak or old person. Although fourteen arm forming members are used in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a device with fewer arm forming members may be advantageous for certain applications. For most applications, however, at least six arms are required to reliably form a minimum barrier effect.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, when the device shown in FIG. 1 is thrown, the impact shatters the shell 22 and the coils 18 immediately extend outwardly from the tubes 12, forming arms each of which is many times in length the diameter of the core 10. In the embodiment illustrated, each arm is approximately four feet in length so that it completely blocks a doorway 34 illustrated in FIG. 3.

An alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, the tubes 12 are joined to one another with their open ends pointing in various pre-determined different directions. Brazing, spot welding, or potting are suitable methods for joining together the tubes. The embodiment of FIG. 4 is advantageous in that it forms one of the most compact configurations possible for the device and it is thus more easily stored and carried.

Referring now to FIG. 8, in certain applications it is desirable to set up a barrier automatically. For example, it may be desirable to set up an internal barrier in an automobile, military vehicle or vault, in the event of an attempted unauthorized entry or use. For such applications, a very small electrically operated explosive charge 40 may be placed on or in the shell 22 and connected in series with switch 42 and a battery 44. When the switch 42 closes, the charge 40 detonates, shattering the shell 22 and setting up the barrier. FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 8, but in the embodiment of FIG. 9, the shell 22 is shattered by a solenoid operated hammer 48 mounted adjacent the shell 22. In this embodiment, when the switch 42 opens a spring 52 causes the hammer 48 to strike the sphere 22.

Referring now to FIG. 10, this embodiment forms a barrier in a window, door, hallway or the like. As shown, a tube 12 housing a barrier forming extensible arms of the type previously described is in one side of a window jam 54. A frangible covering 64 keeps the arm forming strip in a cocked position. Opposite the tube 12 is an arm receiving aperture 58 also embedded in the jam. The covering 64 may be broken in any convenient manner known in the art; the apparatus shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are two examples. When the covering breaks, the arm 18 extends and seats in the opening 58, forming a barrier. If desired for some applications, a suitable explosive charge that detonates upon impact may also be aflixed to the shell 22 in order to insure that the shell shatters upon impact. Further, it should be noted that it may be advantageous to have a barrier that sets up with some arms shorter than others. This may be readily accomplished by varying the size of the coils 18. Then, too, it is possible to make it undesirable to grasp an extended arm such as by providing a relatively sharp edge on the coil 18. The thin steel strip used in a preferred embodi ment of the invention has a thickness in the range of .002 inch to .004 inch so that if any extended arm is grasped with the object in mind of breaking it, or folding it away, injury is almost certain to result, and thus the effectiveness of each arm as a barrier is enhanced.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. It is, therefore, to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

What is claimed is: 1. A device for forming a mechanical barrier comprising in combination:

a plurality of extensible arm forming members, said arm forming members comprise a coiled strip of resilient material that is prestressed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of said strip,

means for joining said arm forming members so that the arms formed by said members extend in different directions,

a housing holding said arm forming members in a contracted position,

said housing being formed of a frangible shell, and

a predetermined member of said arm forming members being extensible to a length at least ten times greater than the diameter of said shell.

2. A device for forming a mechanical barrier as in claim 1 in which there are at least six arm forming members, at least one of said arm forming members being extensible to a length at least ten times its contracted length.

3. A device for forming a mechanical barrier as in claim 1 and further including electrically responsive means for shattering said shell.

4. A device for forming a mechanical barrier as in claim 1 wherein each of said coiled strips is stored in tubes and said tubes are aflixed to a core.

5. A device for forming a mechanical barrier as in claim 1 wherein each of said coiled strips is stored in a tube and said tubes are joined together with their open ends randomly directed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Shiramine.

Darmofalski 256-1 X Capriles 273--84 Powell 461 Lacey 46-1 X Taft 461 X Miller 27227 Great Britain.

15 DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner 

